Thursday, May 29, 2014

Summer and Beyond

Just try and get my berries critters!

Since we came home from Maine, we've been trying to catch up on the little things and started a few bigger projects. I put in a new raised bed with some protection from the berry eating deer and chipmunks. We also had to dig a drainage ditch to take care of some issues in our driveway. All of which has led to me slipping on my blog posting and office work. I plan to take the month of June off from blogging so I can get caught up.

Last week we met with our evaluator for our portfolio review. JT and EM both had a good year, making progress in many areas. JT started learning to organize his own study time better. He also made some improvement in his writing skills. EM made progress in spelling, continues to excel in math, and read tons of books. When we finished going over this year, we also discussed the high school diploma program. Our evaluator showed me how I need to fill out the yearly checklist in order for her to be able to create JT's transcript. We went over various requirements and she shared ideas on how to meet some of the trickier ones.

The diploma program requires a minimum of 4 English, 3 science, 3 math, 3 social studies, and 2 arts/humanities credits in order to graduate. I'm sure JT will have more than that by the time he reaches his senior year. Our current plan for next year looks like this:

English will be split between two teachers. I will cover part of the
literature requirements, vocabulary and word roots, and the speech
component. His tutor will assign the three required classics and the
bulk of the composition assignments.

I am looking into having his drum instructor grade his work to use it as one of the arts/humanities credits.

JT will also have a project based class in which he will create a new card/board game from design to completion. At the end of the year, he will present the game to a group of peers to meet his speech requirement. This project will probably end up counting for 1/2 credit in technology and 1/2 credit in art.

I still haven't committed to the Spanish classes at the Christian school. I keep weighing the benefits and the inconvenience of driving there every day. I have a couple more months before I need to know for sure. Hopefully the answer will become obvious soon.

In addition to the graduation requirements, JT will still participate in our American history and Story of the World reading. I will probably log the hours to see if they add up to enough to count somewhere else, but even if they don't, we enjoy this part of our schooling so it will continue.

I'm still working on my plan for EM. I know he will continue with Singapore math 6a and 6b. I have a 6th grade science text I plan to use for him. His spelling, reading, and geography will all be continuing the same as previous years. Next year I hope to spend considerably more time working with him on his grammar and writing skills. With JT working more independently most of the time, it will free me up to be able to focus on that with EM.

building character

As far as summer plans go, EM and JT will both attend Kids' College and JT will continue with his drum lessons. Other than that, I hope to avoid any serious commitments. JT is getting much closer to employment age and similar adult responsibilities. I want him to be able to have as many care free summers as possible until then. I may expect some work around the house, even a little ditch-digging. Maybe they'll be as glad as John Adams was to return to the classroom when summer is over.

I'll be back in July with my completed plan for our 2014-2015 school year.

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Why Homeschooling?

Sometimes desperation leads to great new things. What started out as an escape from an unsuitable public school situation has turned into a wonderful adventure off the beaten path. We have tried a variety of schooling methods and have decided homeschooling is the best fit for our family.